Lisa Hannigan

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Ben finds being a big brother to his mute little sister Saoirse rather a pain, especially when she doesn't do as she's told. They live with just their father, their mother having left several years ago, and their dog Cu in a lighthouse on an Irish island. When their grandmother comes to take the children to the city, Ben is less than happy and wishes to return home without his sister. Saoirse is a mysterious child who has become rather attached to a seashell from their mother and still proves to be a liability. She also happens to be a Selkie; gifted with the magical ability to transform into a seal underwater. When she is abducted by a flock of night owls, Ben sets out on a desperate mission to find her and rescue her, meeting a wise old Faerie along the way who helps unveil some mystical secrets about his past.

From the very start, Irish singer songwriter Lisa Hannigan's second album Passenger instantly sets out to impress. The introduction of opening track 'Home' sounds a string orchestra flanked piano, guitar and drum blend over which a gentle, warm and mellow singular brass part, perhaps a flugelhorn, is suggested. Hannigan's vocals, hauntingly delicate and smooth flow beautifully and effortlessly from chest voice to whisper over the gently lilting accompaniment beneath them; an accompaniment that steadily builds and builds throughout the track; perfectly formed.

A sparse accompaniment of percussion and bass line sounds beneath Hannigan's vocal throughout the first verse of 'A Sail' before the blend is padded out slightly by the inclusion of the rest of the band and a delicate high-pitched solo violin line. There's also a subtle suggestion of banjo in the mix maintaining Hannigan's folk roots. 'Knots' follows; a picked guitar accompanied bluesy number punctuated by picked double bass and flavoured by slushy string glissandi until around a minute in when the track really begins to stomp in the likes of the vein of KT Tunstall. This album, Passenger, particularly in its miniature orchestral arrangements, really shows a great ambition and flexibility to Hannigan's songwriting and vocal ability and further establishes her as the talented artist that she is.

Lisa Hannigan's new single 'Knots' will be released on October 24th. It is taken from her anticipated second album, 'Passenger', which is set to be released on October 10th. Passenger is the follow up to Lisa's Mercury nominated debut album 'Sea Sew', which was released in 2008.